Fishes
by KeybladeDetweiler
Summary: Four year-olds Sora and Roxas go shopping for pet fish with their older brothers Ven and Vanitas. AU. Cover art by WolfieKid on deviantART.


Four year-old brothers Sora and Roxas both had their hands pressed against the glass of one of the assorted fish tanks at the pet store. Their older brother Ventus watched them, smiling at their excitement.

"Did you find one yet?" he asked, placing his hands on their shoulders.

"I can't decide!" Sora said, looking at the fish with wonder. "There are so many!"

"Yeah! They're all so pretty!" Roxas agreed.

"How about that one?" Ventus said, pointing at a black fish that was floating near a treasure chest.

"Nah. He looks mad. Like Vani." Sora said plainly.

Ventus laughed at his comparison of the fish to their other brother, Vanitas, who had been down in the dog food aisle. At the very mention of the nickname his younger brothers had given him, he appeared behind them, a bag of K-9 Krunchies in his hand. He pushed past his twin brother to see the fish he had been compared to. He frowned upon seeing it.

"That looks nothing like me." He said bluntly, turning to look at Ventus. "Right?"

"Well, it looks a _little_ like you, Van." The blonde replied with a smile.

"No way." Vanitas replied with a tiny scowl.

"Ok, fine. It looks absolutely nothing like you."

"Look!" Roxas said suddenly, turning the older boys' attention to him. "Vani-fish keeps bumping into that goldfish!"

"What?" Ventus asked, looking over at what the boy was pointing at. The black fish that he had pointed out earlier was ramming into a smaller goldfish. The goldfish kept attempting to avoid the black-scaled bully by swimming away, but the black one continued to relentlessly follow it and bump it, occasionally making it hit the glass of the tank.

"Hey, that's kinda like how Vani is always bugging VenVen." Sora said to Roxas, who nodded. The two of them turned to look at their older brothers for a moment, then looked back at the fish.

"So you're saying that the goldfish is me?" Ventus said with a laugh.

"Yup. It's Vani-fish and Ven-fish!" Roxas said with a smile.

"Heh. Those fish are kind of like us." Vanitas said with a small smile, kneeling down and ruffling both his little brothers' hair. He looked back up at Ventus. "You were right, Ven."

"So, you finally admit that the black one _is_ like you. Right down to all the annoying pushing." Ven laughed.

"Hey, I don't push you _that_ much."

"Oh yeah? You shoved me into the wall just yesterday!"

"Touché." Vanitas said before kneeling down behind the two younger boys. "So, is there a Sora-fish, or a Roxas-fish?" he asked them.

"Well, that goldfish looks like Roxas." Sora said, pointing to a fish that was swimming in the tank beside Vani-fish and Ven-fish's.

"Yeah, but I don't see any brown fishes. So maybe there isn't a Sora-fish." Roxas said.

"Aw. All you guys have fish-yous, but I don't. That stinks." Sora said with a frown.

Ven, who hated to see either of his little brothers sad, quickly began scanning each of the tanks for a fish that looked even vaguely like Sora. He finally managed to find one swimming around the bottom of a tank on the second shelf.

"There! Look, it's Sora-fish!" he said, picking up his brown-haired little brother and lifting him up so that he could see it. Sora's eyes lit up as soon as he saw it.

"Cool! He looks just like me!" he said gleefully, pressing his hands against the glass of the tank.

Vanitas came over to inspect it. "Are you kidding? That ugly thing looks nothing like you." Upon hearing this, Sora's frown returned. Ven used his free arm to elbow Vanitas in the stomach.

"What was that for?" Vanitas snapped, glaring at his brother.

Ven frowned. "Don't say that to him! You'll hurt his feelings."

"Ok. Fine." Vanitas sighed. He ruffled Sora's hair and said, "I'm sorry. He looks exactly like you."

Sora grinned. "Really? Thanks, Vani!"

Vanitas smiled. "Of course."

After five more minutes of fish watching, both of the older boys were ready to go.

"Okay, do you know which ones you want?" Ven asked, smiling down at his two little brothers.

"Can we get four instead of just two?" Roxas asked. Their original plan had been to get just two fish, one for Sora and one for Roxas.

"Well…" Ven crossed his arms and thought for a second. "I don't see why not." He smiled. "Which ones are you wanting?"

"We want Vani-fish, Ven-fish, and Sora-fish and Roxas-fish!" Sora said happily. "They can all be brothers, like us!"

Ven smiled at his brother, who smiled back. They both reached down to pick up their little brothers, Ven grabbing Sora and Vanitas grabbing Roxas.

"Okay. Vani-fish, Ven-fish, Sora-fish, and Roxas-fish it is then." Ven said, nodding his head. The boys went to get the fish specialist, who scooped the four fish into four separate plastic bags. He handed one to each of them; "Vani-fish" to Vanitas, "Ven-fish" to Ventus, "Sora-fish" to Sora, and "Roxas-fish" to Roxas. He then helped them pick out a tank, some decorations, and fish food, and finally helped them carry their purchases to the checkout and then the car.

All the way home, Sora and Roxas bounced around in the backseat, singing, "Fish family! Fish family! Fish family!" over and over. When they made it home, the two little boys were bursting with excitement. They could barely contain themselves as they watched their older brothers assemble the fish tank piece by piece in their shared bedroom. After the tank had been filled with water and the filter and light turned on, the boys dropped the fish into the tank. Ven sprinkled some fish food in, and then closed the lid.

"Okay, it's all done!" he said cheerfully. Sora and Roxas scrambled off of Ven's bed excitedly and scurried over to get a look at the fish tank. Ven and Vanitas lifted them up so they could see it better. The two little ones were filled with awe at the sight of the mini underwater world.

No matter how many hours passed, the two four year-olds never tired of watching the fish swim about. Whenever either of the older boys tried to leave the room, they begged them to come back and "watch the fishy family" some more. Because of this, the four boys spent the rest of the day together, snuggled close on Ven's bed, watching the fish explore their new home.


End file.
